What Are Li Ka-Shing's Intentions For His Multi-Million Dollars to St. Michael's Hospital?

Left: Statue of goddess Gaun Yin in Macau, China, which Wikipedia describes as:
"...a blend between the traditional images of the bodhisattva Guanyin and Holy Mary."

Center: Statue of Guan Yin at the Ka-Shing Tsz Shan Monastery (under construction)

This statue is to be completed in 2014, and will be "The world's tallest bronze Guan Yin Statue."

Ka-Shing, I think, used the Macau statue as his model, and it suits his "cosmopoliatan" opportunism, where Mary might figure in his design, but his thoughts and beliefs are quite certainly Buddhist and Asian.

More on the goddess Guan Yin:

Guanyin (...previous transliterations Quan Yin, Kwan Yin, or Kuanyin) is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World". She is also sometimes referred to as Guanyin Pusa (...literally: "Bodhisattva Guanyin"). Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī.

[Collage by KPA]
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I wrote recently that the disappearance of Saint Michael, the patron saint of St. Michael's hospital and its legacy, is due to Christianity and Western culture being subtly but persistently swept aside in Toronto. I alluded to the $25 million donation from Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-Shing to establish the Li Ka-Shing Knowledge Institute as being influential in this process. This was a premonition (or an educated deduction), based on other posts I had written over an eight-year period.

My post was too long for me to search more on the religious practices of Li Ka-Shing, this Hong Kong billionaire.

I tried to find Ka-Shing's religion. Is he Catholic? Is he Buddhist? Is he an atheist? What is he?

The information wasn't forthcoming, but Ka-Shing is no Catholic, let alone some kind of a Christian, and instead has close affiliations with Buddhism.

From Wikipedia:

Tsz Shan Monastery is a large Buddhist temple currently under construction in Tung Tsz, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Much of the monastery building funds were funded entirely by local business magnate Li Ka-shing.

[This] includes the construction of Tsz Shan Monastery, a large monastery and a height of 76 meters and is the second highest in the world outdoor bronze Guanyin statue. Tsz Temple is expected to be completed in 2014, led by the Venerable Kok Kwong HHCKLA open, the public will then be able to make an appointment and visit Tsz Shan Monastery.

Perhaps this lack of information is because of the yet-to-be-completed Buddhist monastery, but surely there are other instances where Ka-Shing reveals his religious sentiments?

China Times provided more information about the monastery-in-contruction in an August 2013 article Li Ka-shing builds bulletproof private compound in monastery:

Property tycoon Li Ka-shing has allegedly had a private safe house and meditation room built at the Tsz Shan Monastery, a Buddhist temple in Hong Kong that is under construction. Li's Cheung Kong Holdings has also been sued by the building contractors for HK$335 million (US$43 million) in outstanding payments, according to Duowei News, a media outlet operated by overseas Chinese.

Li donated over HK$1 billion (US$128 million) for the construction of the monastery, which includes the world's second tallest Buddhist statue. Li and his eldest son Victor established a private company to oversee the work.

My conclusion for this lack of ready information on Ka-Shing's religious affiliations is that if Ka-Shing publicizes his beliefs, he then has to be held in some way accountable to the many Christian organizations in which he participates. Another reason could be that Buddhists don't view their belief as a religion, as Christians do, but classify it more as a guide for living well. Either way, his affiliation with a historically Catholic hospital is odd. But perhaps it's not so odd.

In search of money, organizations, and even whole countries, are going to the biggest bidder. Ka-Shing is delivering. But, he has his loyalties, and he will make sure that they are met.

And by funding a world-renonwed Western hospital like St. Michael's, he is providing a facility which can cater to his own people, both family and countrymen.

The author at Wikipedia on the Tzs Shan monastery provides this title with a link at the bottom of the article:
Hong Kong billionaire denies report 249-foot goddess statue will be his tomb. I think this is just another instance of Ka-Shing's obfuscation and secrecy.

Everyone has to think about his death at some time. People's loyalties can be ascertained by how they approach their death. Ka-Shing has given us plenty of information with his choice of burial place.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Brigitte Gabriel: "I Put the Truth Out"

Fox News' Hannity had on a program to discuss Jihad with the formidable Brigitte Gabriel, CEO of ACT! for America, and lawyer Saba Ahmed. The interaction was broadcast on June 19th on Fox News. I have linked to the full video below.



On June 20th, Hannity brought in a panel to discuss "Radical Islam on the March" and showed excerpts of the interaction between Gabriel and Ahmed from the previous night. Gabriel was in the audience, but Ahmed was conspicuously absent. Other panelists included Andrew Bostom, Pam Geller, Jamie Glazov, and the few others who have been constantly alarming the public about the dangers of Islam.

Below is an excerpt from the Gabriel/Ahmed interaction, where Hannity grills Ahmed on the silence of "moderate" Muslims in light of the "radical" Muslim activities going on around the world.



And below is a transcript of some pertinent points where Amhed capitulates to Gabriel.

Around the 26 minute point (to about 26:38):

Brigitte Gabriel:

Let's take the gloves off and speak the truth, Saba. This time you're dealing with Brigitte Gabriel. You're not dealing with somebody timid that you can manipulate and talk over. Not this time, Saba. People like you need to be put in their place. THis is America. We love our country, and we will fight for our country and protect her from people exactly like you and expose people exactly like you.

Saba Ahmed

Wow. Brigitte...

Brigitte Gabriel

Yes!

Saba Ahmed

Brigitte, you just sound very angry.

Brigitte Gabriel

No, I'm very passionate, I'm not angry. Angry is something completely different.

Around the 27 minute point (to about the 27:15 point):

Saba Ahmed

Now you're calming down. But from the beginning, you were very, very loud. And now you're starting to calm down. I don't know what was going on, but now you're starting to calm down, which is good.

Brigitte Gabriel

Because I don't allow liars to speak over me because I put the truth out. I would not like to go unchallenged.

Saba Ahmed

How dare you call me a liar! You are so mean!

Around the 27:50 point (to about 28:24 point

Saba Ahmed

Brigitte, a lot of lives were lost since 9/11 because of these fear tactics [i.e. Brigitte Gabriel's debating tactics]

Brigitte Gabriel

No, a lot of lives were lost because of people like you who are not standing up to the radicals and stopping them in their tracks...

[...]

Don't play games Saba, we're on national television. It's time the Muslim community stand up, stop the lies, stop the political correctness, and start calling a spade a spade.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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St. Michael's: A Disappearing Legacy

I have been posting about my visits to St. Michael's Hospital, in Toronto, where I have been a regular patient for the past year or so. I now won't have to make another visit for another two months. My doctor diagnosed my treatment as successful at my visit last week, and that I just need to return for a follow-up. That is good news. I have said that it is St. Michael who is protecting me, and I carry with me a key chain of the hospital's sculpture.

I briefly mention this in Reclaiming The Beauty of St. Michael's Hospital, where I also write about the hospital.

I didn't know then, in February 26, 2014, four months ago, how appropriate that heading was.

On my last visit, I went again into the gift shop to buy something else - a poster, a replica of the sculpture, a mug even - as a conclusion and my small gift (although I have made a donation already, which can be made here) to my visits to the hospital.

The saleswoman had told me at my list visit that the hospital was changing its logo, and would be bringing in new items in a couple of months.

So I asked her what was new.

She showed me a couple of t-shirts with just the words "St. Michael's, Inspired Care, Inspiring Science" in bold, plain white print against a navy blue background.

"How about the sculpture?" I asked.

"Well, this is the new logo," she replied.

"That doesn't make sense. How is it St. Michael's without that famous sculpture as its logo? The older signs all had it."

"I don't know. We have no say,' she answered, clearly not very happy.

I got a little emotional, and said that if he wasn't going to be around to watch out for us, then who was?

Well, it is the trend now, in our contemporary world, where anything to do with God and Christianity, and more specifically Western Christianity and culture, are subtly being eradicated. The hospital hasn't change its name yet, although I don't doubt that can happen very soon. There are too many forces in multicultural Toronto which want Christianity, the Christian God, and Western culture out of the way.

I wrote here in my February 2014 post (linking to a 2012 post I did on my criticism of the hospital's funding source and new building):

I have criticized the hospital's latest wing, completed in 2011, and its funding source here. But, the St. Michael's Hospital legacy is long and sustained. There is Saint Michael's Cathedral, and St. Michael's Choir School for boys, both in the vicinity of the hospital (more here), giving it moral support.

I wrote in February 2012:

Art is a testament of God. The new hospital addition discards God through the bland, expressionless, spiritless flat glass panes. Since God is not important, then man takes on a different dimension, whose importance is gauged not by his spirituality and his goodness, but by his acquisitions and his power. And money is rootless, so it can come from the highest bidder, from any corner of the world. Shing won this time around, but it could have been anyone. Anyone, that is, who could come up with extra zeros on the donation check.

Even before that physical removal of the presence of God, or God's archangel, I had a premonition that the whole idea was to remove God altogether.

I figured this out two years before St. Michael was officially removed as the hospital's logo.

One of the hospital's new wing that is part of the hospital's "state-of-the-art" medical facility was funded by a Hong Kong businessman, Li Ka-Shing. His inroads into Canada include:

...the single largest shareholder of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), the fifth largest bank in Canada until the sale of his share in 2005 (with all proceedings donated, see below). He is also the majority shareholder of a major energy company, Husky Energy, based in Alberta, Canada.

In January 2005, Li announced plans to sell his $1.2 billion CAD stake in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, with all proceeds going to private charitable foundations established by Li including the Li Ka Shing Foundation in Hong Kong and the Li Ka Shing (Canada) Foundation based in Toronto.

Li has some real estate interest in Vancouver, specifically in connection with Concord Pacific Developments that developed the old Expo '86 lands in Yaletown[citation needed], as well as Concord Park Place and CityPlace, Toronto in Toronto.

His two sons, who work with him, are Canadian citizens:

His two sons, Victor Li and Richard Li, are also prominent figures in the Hong Kong business scene. Victor Li works directly with his father as managing director and vice-chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, while Richard Li is the head of PCCW, the largest telecom company in Hong Kong. They are both Canadian citizens.
[Source: Wikipedia]

There is already some dramatic background regarding his son Victor Li who was kidnapped by "crime king "Big Spender" Cheung Tze-keung 17 years ago [in 1996]." Ka-Shing paid a ransom to have his son released, who is now a Canadian citizen (and from what I can find out, Ka-Shing, father, has dual Canadian and Chinese citizenship).

And here is a Canadian intelligence investigation on Li Ka-Shing:

Victor Li, the Chinese-Canadian businessman who wants to take control of much of Air Canada, has a family name that is well known to investigators in the Canadian Security and Information Service (CSIS) and the RCMP, who were very interested in his father, Li Ka-shing, in the late 1990s.

Li Ka-shing was the focus of a special joint CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Services) and RCMP (The Royal Canadian Mounted Police) probe, called Project Sidewinder. The report, called "Chinese Intelligence Services and Triads Financial Links in Canada," which was not widely distributed here, shows that Li Ka-shing is closely associated with the Chinese government.

"The companies belonging to Mr. Li (one of the 10 richest men in the world) are not simply businesses that performed better than our own companies in a particular sector," explained one of the main authors of the report, Michel Juneau-Katsuya, during an interview yesterday.

For years, Mr. Juneau-Katsuya headed the strategic investigation office for CSIS in the Asia-Pacific area. He retired in 2000 and now directs an international intelligence organization, the Northgate Group, in Ottawa. "No American company has links with the political centres in Washington that are as close as the ones the Li family has with Beijing," he said. "At the time of the investigations, Mr. Li was increasing his holdings in Canada. This raised a national security issue: to what extent can foreign companies be allowed to own important economic entities in Canada?"

[...]

Seven years ago, according to information that has never been confirmed, Li Ka-shing apparently handed over $125 million to men who kidnapped his son, Victor Li, in Hong Kong. According to reports, Mr. Ka-shing asked then Chinese President Jiang Zemin for assistance directly (when Hong Kong was still separate from China). [Source: Prime Time Crime: November 11, 2003]

This is the name that a hospital wishes to associate itself with. So, it is no surprise that St. Michael's has to go.

And even sadder, and more uncanny, is something which I just found out while trying to link to the hospital's benefactor, Patrick Keenan:

Patrick J. Keenan, 1932-2014
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of St. Michael’s best friends and most generous benefactors, Patrick (Pat) J. Keenan. His affiliation with the hospital spans nearly 30 years, including important roles as hospital board chair, dedicated volunteer and advocate, philanthropist and friend.

Here is more from the St. Michael's website, with an announcement written on Friday May 2, 2014:

St. Michael’s Hospital was today mourning the loss of Patrick (Pat) J. Keenan, a longtime supporter, board member, benefactor and friend. Keenan, 82, died Thursday night.

I was in the hospital, being given a clean bill of health on that very day, Thursday May 1, that Mr. Keenan died.

It is no surprose that I am getting all kinds of premonitions. We, those who get these because of our attention to our cultural changes, need to keep a vigilant eye, and are responsible for conveying our knowledge. I will continue to do so.


Pat and Barbara Keenan stand outside
the former Annex buildings, now the
site of the Keenan Research Centre, in 2005
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Tresor

The beautiful Isabella Rossellini (the daughter of the even more beautiful Ingrid Bergman) was the "face" of Lancome's signiature perfume Tresor from 1982-1996.

I've had Tresor for years, and have gone through some bottles (I think three).

This last bottle is at its last stretches, so I went to the mall (The Bay) to find out about prices. A 30ml bottle is around $70. I told the salesman that it was my all time favorite perfume, and that I have about a month's worth left (I showed him my bottle). He got quite emotional, and said his mother used to wear it also. He then went into the back, and brought me a tiny sample bottle, usually given as gifts for other Lancome purchases. "You made my day!" I said, thanking him.

None of the subsequent models for Tresor have Rossellini's beauty.

Tresor has a combination scent of floral/fruity, which I think is perfect for summer.

Here are Tresor's notes:

Top: Pineapple, Lilac, Peach, Apricot Blossom, Lilly-if-the-Valley, Bergamot, Rose
Middle: Iris, Jasmine, Heliotrope, Rose
Base: Apricot, Sandalwood, Amber, Musk, Vanilla, Peach

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Bush Roses

I took the following photo of a rose bush. I tried to find its name through Google Image, but to no avail. It has a slightly bedraggled look, has a very faint rose scent, and has tiny thorns on the leaves.

I've done a design project on a similar type of rose - the dog rose. I thought perhaps this darker red rose was a variation (in color) of the dog rose, but as far as I can find out, it isn't, and the dog rose only comes in a lilac/pink color.

Below are the images:


Rose bush with no name
[Photo By: KPA]


Rose still life with blue cup
[Design by KPA]


Dog rose
[Left: Watercolor by KPA]


Repeat pattern of dog rose with dove
[Design by KPA]


Dog Rose with Purple Grass
[Design by KPA]

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Hannah

Hannah Giving Her Son Samuel to the Priest
Jan Victors (1619-1676)
Dutch
Date Painted: 1645
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 53.1in x52.4 in

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If I had to choose my name, it would Hannah.

I love the symmetry of the name, the perfect mirror image when divided at the "n."

I like that it is a sturdier sound than "Anna."

And for some reason, I see it as a dusky rose.

So, the first draw was the design of the name, then the sound.

But, ultimately, it is meaning that matters - "a rose by any other name?"

Some Hebrew translations of the name give "grace" and "favor" as some meanings. Other translations are more specific with "Grace of God," or "Gift of God's favor."

Hannah received God's favor when she asked God for a son. She bore Samuel, who would be a prophet, and was commanded by God to anoint David as King, and David would be in line for the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The metaphor for me in Hanna's story is that God heard her prayers, and gave her more than she ever wished (or asked) for.

Hath not the scripture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David,
and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
[John 7:42]

The Hannah Rose
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Station Irises

Station Irises
[Photo By: KPA]

These irises were growing before a bus depot. They were there last year, and back again this year. They appeared suddenly. Last week, nothing, and this week, here they are.

My version from last year:



I can modestly say that my 2014 version is an improvement from last year. Taking photographs is a continuously learning process. That is why photographers return to the same scene, or composition, until they feel they have got it right.

I think I will be looking for something else next year.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Variation in Blue

[Photo By: Kidist P. Asrat]
(Shot with a 30X zoom)

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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A Candidate for House of the Un-American Activities

In my last post, I wrote that Obama was anti-American.

I think he is actually un-American.

He cannot seem to relate to any of the fundamental aspects of America: its British and European history; its break from Britain to form its own country; its sad and difficult past of slavery for which it has expiated one hundred times over; its civil rights revolution to put the wrongs right; the inability of the aggrieved groups, despite decades of ample assistance, to come to par with the rest of the county. And so on.

Obama, of course, couldn't belong anywhere else either. No African nation, the continent of his father, would accept him as an African, nor would the Indonesia where he grew up (less so because he doesn't even look Indonesian).

Still, he has acted against his country, his country of birth, America, whatever his psychological baggage. He has tarnished the highest post of this land, which allowed him to be its leader.

And his bitter medicine is that he can't quite handle that job. He's smart, he has a lawyer's mind, he has high speaking abilities, and he's a good family man. But so are many CEO's and school principals. He aimed too high.

In any case, none of that exonerates him.

What I think should happen now is that he be investigated by the house of Un-American activities.

Obama is beyond anti-American, he's un-American. He seems to have a deep-felt antagonsim toward America, a desire to bring her down and humiliate her. Why? Charles Krauthammer, the psychiatrist-turned-political columnist says in a news discussion that we should not bother with psychology, and concentrate on actions.

Well, we cannot help but wonder at the underlying psychology of Obama's behaviors.

But, I agree with Krauthammer. There is no need to analyze, which is tantamount to excusing, Obama. I conclude that Obama simply hates America.

Therefore, we need to bring Obama to the House of Un-American activities. His actions have come to a head these past few weeks, each one supporting my claim of his un-Americaness, and each one thus tied to the other.

Today, Obama stood in front of the world's leaders, and in front of the world, and talked at the D-day commemorations. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of state of mind allows him to stand there and make the speech, while his past conduct, now exposed, has been to undermine those very soldiers. His hypocricy, like many of his atrocities, is astounding.

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Addendum
I'm not the only one to discuss Obama's un-American activities. John Hawkins from Town Hall, who has written a column titled Three Un-American Activities of Barack Obama, lists three of the lesser-known un-American activities of the President (I've just posted the headings to his points. The full discussion can be read at Town Hall).

Hawkins lists Obama's violations:

1) Siding with Mexico against Arizona.

2) All the bowing to foreign leaders (I wrote on this several years ago).

3) Criticizing America abroad.

Hawkins doesn't follow the logic of his thoughts, to continue writing that un-American activities necessitate investigation by the House of Un-American Activities, not some list in a newspaper.

That is the problem. Journalists and politicians have pussy-footed around Obama for so long that they don't know how to approach the seriousness of the issues, and what to do (or to recommend to do) about them. It is too little too late for lists.
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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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The Sins of the Fathers

The President of the United States at a public press conference with Jihadists
in the White House Rose Garden, where Brendahl's father
used many Islamic phrases including: Bismillah al Rahman al Raheem

The second phrase, which sounds like "ze aba yem," is the Afghani language Pashto for "I am your father," which Brendahl does translate:

"I am your father, Bowe."

Below is the video, and Brendahl's father speaks the words above between the 4:00 and 5:00 minutes point, and he continues to speak for another twenty seconds or so.



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The media is giving a lot of slack to Obama, tripping itself over words like "he's ignorant and arrogant."

Obama is neither ignorant nor arrogant. His made a spectacular move in releasing the five Jihadists. They are being presented as terrorists, which they're not. Their mission is existential, not political. Their aim is to bring glory to Allah, their god, to whom they bow five times a day in prayer. They're not after some ideological change, but a the Ummah, when the whole world is Allah's.

Obama is simply anti-American, and anti-Western. He hates the America of Washington and Lincoln, and even that of his biggest living American allies, the Clintons.

He is not merely lying, he is establishing his ingrained beliefs to restructure and change America.

He may not actually be a Muslin, or may never convert to Islam, but he is a Muslim and Islam sympathizer. He is willing to change centuries of American history in order to make something different, something that is not American. The most effective method to do so at the moment is to cause Islam to do the damage.

As a young girl, student in a British schools, I attended chapel daily, as did all the students. We used to pray for the Queen, for Queen Elizabeth. We used pray:

O Lord, save the Queen;
O Lord our heavenly Father,
high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of princes,
who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth;
most heartily we beseech thee with thy favour
to behold our most gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth;
and so replenish her with the grace of thy Holy Spirit,
that she may alway incline to thy will, and walk in thy way:
endue her plenteously with heavenly gifts;
grant her in health and wealth long to live;
strengthen her that she may vanquish and overcome all her enemies;
and finally, after this life, she may attain everlasting joy and felicity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

I tried very hard to be in this prayerful spirit for Obama, but I cannot.

How can I say: "Strengthen him that he may vanquish and overcome all his enemies" when in actual fact he is part of the enemy?

This is bigger than impeachment. In fact, that may not even happen. This requires the concerted effort, understanding, and prayer of all Americans, and all westerners, that the god-forsaken Islam has taken a stronghold in America, and no-one is doing anything to stop it. And it is time to start.

This primal disconnection from the leader of one's country is as painful as disconnecting from any leader: a teacher, a parent or even a priest. But, these mere mortals are at the bidding of God. Once they have discarded or tarnished that honorary role, then God would ask us to follow Him rather than them.

We should pray for ourselves.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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It's Not Hard to Predict

I called this out on Annette Bosworth here. (Comments in the first link from The Wire are also interesting.)

As one commenter says:

What made her think that she ever had a chance? Also, I don't know if it was the shock that she found out that she lost, but she really didn't come off as all that intelligent in that interview, actually she came off as a bit spiteful.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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Designing a Garden

The Monet Bridge in the Gibbs Gardens


Claude Monet, 1840-1926
Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, 1899
Oil on canvas
36 1/2 x 29 in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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Garden Smart is a show which features gardens and gardeners around the United States. This week, the host of the program, Eric Johnson, went to Georgia, to the Gibbs Gardens in Atlanta, where landscaper architect Jim Gibbs has designed his own home's garden.

Gibbs talks about his initial idea of designing his garden, and how he went about collecting the plants and designing the landscape.

Below is the full (26 minute) video of Garden Smart showcasing the Gibbs Gardens.



This excerpt starts around the 5 minute mark of the video, and ends around the 7 minute mark:

- Johnson: Today we're going to visit your opus, your masterpiece, Gibbs Garden. I can't wait to tour it.

- Gibbs: Thank you, I look forward to showing it to you.

- Johnson: why did you select this site?

- Gibbs: In 1973, I knew that I wanted to build a world class garden. But I knew that first of all, I had to come up with a criteria for searching for and. I knew that I needed an abundance of water. I needed a mature, forest setting. I wanted to make sure that we had rolling topography to feature all the plant material...So I started searching for land in 1980, and I found this beautiful piece of property. There was no question I had all the water that I needed. Hundreds of springs everywhere. And a stream that flowed through the valley. And I would be able to create all of the ponds - there were 32 ponds I wanted to build - the bridge crossings and the waterfalls.

- Johnson: This garden has a very old look about it. And you said you started in 1980, so this is a 33 year-old garden. It looks like it's been here for over a hundred years.

- Gibbs: Most people that come to the Gibbs garden say: "Did you inherit this from your parents?" And of course, if you can find a piece of property as beautiful as this is with all the natural formations that we had, it'd make such a difference, because so many gardens that have been built have started as prairie land and it takes seven years just to make the garden have enough age and maturity.

- Johnson: Sure. Give us a quick overview of the garden.

- Gibbs: We actually have sixteen garden venues. Three of these are feature gardens. And they serve as the three magnets that pull people from one point to the next. And within those three magnets, we've been able to develop the other sixteen garden venues. So when you come to Gibbs Gardens, if you come every three weeks, you're going to see something different in bloom. It was designed that way from the first of March to the middle of December. So we like for people to come and see every bloom festival. And we have a calendar that shows our flower festivals and our music festivals

Jim Gibbs then talks extensively about his daffodils, and later about his flowering trees, and especially on how to prune crepe myrtles.

Below is a map of the garden, showing the Monet bridge, the waterlily garden, and the daffodils which cover a large area of the garden.




Crepe myrtle (also known as crape myrtle) from the Gibbs Gardens,
which are located in northern part of the garden.
Pruning crepe myrtle is not essential, but aesthetically recommended.

Other interviews of gardeners by Johnson can be viewed here.

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Posted By: Kidist P. Asrat
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